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Extreme torture, kidnapping in Iowa case, laid out in affidavit

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -

A 45-year-old Iowa woman and her husband and son face charges after police said the woman tortured, abused and locked up her mentally handicapped stepson at their home.

Court documents lay out many intricate details of incidents over the course of several years, in which police state Rebecca S. Beyer, of Council Bluffs, deprived the 20-year-old of living essentials, including food and a bathroom, as well as forced him to sleep while standing.

The 20-year-old told police that Beyer restrained him inside a garage with a dog leash and chains, sometimes overnight.

The documents state the 20-year-old ran away from home on Feb. 19 and was found wearing little clothing outside a gas station by people who took him to the Joshua House -- a men’s emergency shelter that serves homeless people in the area.

According to the official complaint, the 20-year-old told a worker at the Joshua House that he was not being fed and that he was being burned with hot silverware by his stepmother. He later told police that these were the only utensils he was allowed to use when eating.

A police officer following up on the abuse report from the Joshua House said he noted multiple burn marks on the 20-year-old, including along his left forearm, inner thighs and groin area.

The 20-year-old told police that his stepmother would heat up a fork and spoon on the stove, pull his pants down and burn him when she was angry with him.

Court documents said the 20-year-old told police and other officials that he was also being physically assaulted by his father, James Beyer Jr., 41, and that his parents had threatened to kill him.

The 20-year-old reported that, at one point, Rebecca Beyer pulled a handgun from under her mattress and held it to his head, acting as if she was pulling the trigger.

A forensic examination of the 20-year-old confirmed the burn marks found on him were consistent with an object that could have been a fork or spoon. But when confronted with the allegations, police said that James and Rebecca Beyer denied the claims, saying they had never seen the marks before and attributed them to a lack of cleanliness or athlete’s foot.

Police also noted a burn mark on the 20-year-old’s lower back that appeared to be “consistent with the size and shape of a standard clothes iron.” The 20-year-old told police he was unsure what caused the mark because he did not see it, but it felt “too big to be a fork or spoon.”

The 20-year-old described one incident to police in which Rebecca Beyer told him that she was going to torture him. Court documents state that she gave him a choice from three boxes of objects, including a "club with spikes on it," a "Chinese sword" and a handgun.

The 20-year-old told police he had been burned by his stepmother and assaulted by his father two days before he ran away. He said his father hit him with a thin piece of wood, knocked him to the ground, kicked him in the chest and choked him until he couldn’t breathe.

The report states that as Rebecca Beyer was smacking and punching him in the face, she called for her son, Ryan Smith, 22, to help her chain him up.

The 20-year-old said Smith only verbally threatened him, but said he had physically assaulted him in the past, including once on his birthday, which resulted in injuries that went untreated.

According to court documents, investigators said after obtaining a search warrant, they took the 20-year-old to the home to quickly identify specific objects he had mentioned to police.

Detectives said they found the dog leash near the garage door, almost directly above the area the 20-year-old said he had been chained to.

Also found, according to court documents, were what “appeared to be a homemade restraint made of hardware chain that could easily be padlocked;” a 5-gallon bucket that the 20-year-old said he had been forced to use as a toilet; a spoon with burnt residue on it found on the kitchen counter; and boxes that contained a club covered with sharp spikes and a sword cane.

When investigators executed the search warrant in March, they asked Rebecca Beyer if she would be interested in a polygraph test, but she refused.

James and Rebecca Beyer and Smith -- the people who were receiving the 20-year-old's Social Security disability checks until at least the beginning of April -- were arrested Wednesday morning, and they're being held at the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Rebecca Beyer is charged with first-degree kidnapping and willful injury causing serious injury. James Beyer Jr. and Smith are charged with first-degree kidnapping. Authorities said the charges surround the alleged abuse occurring over the two days before the 20-year-old ran away from home.

"We're denying all the accusations made by the victim," said defense attorney Bill McGinn, who represents Rebecca Beyer. "She's never been in trouble before, and this comes totally out of the blue."

Beyer's sister said it's hard for her to believe the allegations are real.

"I can't picture her ever doing anything like that," she said. "I just can't. I can't at all."

Bail has been set at $100,000 for each of the accused, and a bond review hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Their next court date is set for July 1.

Prosecutors said the alleged victim is now safe and receiving his disability benefits.

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